Bad Apple_A Stepbrother Romance Read online

  “Yes, sir,” she said moments later, sounding defeated, but it was subtle. “I’ll be at the office on time, sir, don’t worry…yes, I’ll join you in your office immediately…if you’ll excuse me, sir.”

  She sighed as she cut the call and leaned back against the counter, her chin falling to her chest as she folded her arms over around her waist.

  “I’m guessing that didn’t go well?” I asked rhetorically.

  I’d moved to sit at the dining table, chin resting on my hand, elbow braced on the table. Claire stood unmoving for a moment; then she looked up at me with her lips pressed flat.

  “I tried to ask my boss to let me off for the morning to go to the hospital, but he refused to allow it.”

  “Because you came home early yesterday,” I said.

  She nodded. “Your parole officer came to visit me. Did you know?”

  I flattened my lips and frowned. “Yeah. She stopped by in the morning and told me she’d be coming to see you. She caught me while I was drunk. Sorry about that.”

  Claire gave me a wide-eyed look of surprise. “You’re…apologizing?”

  I nodded. “I know the kind of risk you’re taking in letting me stay here, Claire. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. I know… I was throwing a tantrum before, and I promise to try not to do it again.”

  I frowned at myself because the best I could do was promise to try. I couldn’t say for sure it wouldn’t happen again. Fuck, I was crap at explaining myself which was why I avoided it like the plague. Expressions and me just didn’t go hand-in-hand. Things between Claire and me were still pretty vague, and I didn’t know when we would have our ‘talk’, but it would be optimistic to hope it went well for the both of us. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, and I wasn’t sure what Claire wanted, either. Because it was obvious she wanted me; she hadn't shoved me out of bed last night, either. But, at the same time, she didn’t want me. She had her reasons, and as long as I didn’t know them, I didn’t know how to take care of them so she would give us a chance.

  “That…is a surprise,” Claire said, blinking at me.

  “Oh, come on. I’m not that bad, am I? I can tell when I’ve made a mistake. I knew even before Ms. Brent came to visit. But what exactly did she tell you that had you leaving work early?”

  Claire narrowed her eyes at me. “She told me that you hadn't been to the hospital to visit Richard even once. Rogue, is that true?”

  I sighed and looked to the side. “Well, you caught me when I was about to go yesterday, and I will be going today. It’s not like I didn’t want to go.”

  Her eyes remained narrowed on me for a moment longer; then she nodded her head like she’d confirmed a thought of hers. I tilted my head a bit to the side, curious, but I didn’t ask.

  “Well, anyway. I’m in the middle of a case with a superior of mine at work, so during this case, I answer directly to him. Ms. Brent showed up in the middle of a meeting, and I decided to leave right after. I practically had to beg to be let off, and he made me promise I’d go in early today to finish that meeting then move forward. So he won’t allow me to beg off for this morning.”

  I shrugged. “It’s fine, Claire. I know I can't keep putting this off, and it’s not like I need you to hold my hand the entire time, or anything. I can just go by myself. Oh, I found some cash in that drawer over there, it’s where I’ve been getting funds but its, uh, out of money. So, if you’d just give me some cash, then it’s fine.”

  Claire rolled her eyes. “If all you need is money, you should have reminded me sooner. I can't believe I forgot myself…”

  I didn’t know what she was talking about and watched as she walked out of the kitchen. I noticed that she was already fully dressed and ready to leave. Did she have breakfast? But I couldn’t smell or see anything. Before I could think too much about it, she came back with her purse, rifling through it. She pulled out a card, then brought it over to me.

  “This is my debit card,” she explained. “It doesn’t have a lot of cash in it, so you have to watch how you use it. You can call it an allowance of some sort. It’s so you don’t have to come to me for everything, after all, this isn’t your new prison or anything. You can only use as much money as the card holds and money will be deposited into the account at the end of every month. If you need extra money, you’ll have to ask me directly. And it will only be for a few months, so adjust to society quickly and find a job or something, all right?”

  I stared at the card in my hands, a bit surprised. I’d had money before, and my accounts with funds Dad gave me and cut off when he wanted me to behave, not that it helped. He wouldn’t let me starve, but it did reach a point where he cut me off permanently because I kept losing money in gambling and maxing out my credit cards. I hadn't thought much what I would be doing about money, so this was very relieving.

  It did make me wonder, though, whose idea it was. Dad, Hannah’s, or Claire?

  Claire groaned, and I looked up.

  “Shit. I need to leave now if I don’t want to be late to work. I need to get out of here.”

  “You’re not having breakfast?” I asked, moving to stand. “I’ll make you something real quick if you want?”

  “It’s fine. I don’t eat breakfast; I’ll just get something on the road. I’ll meet you at the hospital at lunch though, okay? Let Mom know when you see her. It won’t be for very long, but I’ll try to make it.”

  I nodded along with her words, but she wasn’t even looking at me. She had a small, silver watch on her wrist and she was checking it as she backed out of the kitchen. At the last word, she turned around without a last glance at me. I was already standing, and the kitchen wasn’t that wide. I reached out and snagged her hand, stopping her from walking away, and she whirled around to face me, looking a bit startled.

  “Um,” she started to speak.

  I didn’t give her the chance to say whatever it was she planned on saying, though, tugging her closer, my other hand moving to cup her cheek, as I leaned down to kiss her lips. I couldn’t explain the impulse that made me do it, but I liked it. When I pulled back and met her eyes, Claire didn’t look like she minded it, either.

  “I’ll see you,” she murmured.

  I hummed, smiling down at her. Slowly, she backed away from me, and I didn’t stop her again as her hand slipped out of mine. She turned and left, and shortly after she was out of sight, I heard the door. Then I sighed and headed back to the bedroom.

  “First, shower. Then, hospital.”

  From now on, I needed to set my priorities straight. Getting to the hospital was the most important thing at the moment, everything else would have to wait. I needed to see to Dad and get a job, I didn’t like the idea of Claire giving me money like a kid. I had to be independent and stop thinking with my cock for a change, but it was going to be fucking hard, but I had to try.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Claire

  I kept checking the time as I worked. It was getting so close to lunch. I’d only been waiting for a few hours, but it felt like it had taken so long and there was still half an hour left to go. I was anxious, but I did my best to hide it.

  If I’d just been on my desk, it would have been okay, maybe. But the problem was I was still sharing a room with Simon, even though our meeting was long over. He’d insisted I stay and work nearby, and since all my other cases had been cleared so I could focus on this one, I couldn’t even say no, dammit. It was so fucking uncomfortable, because it was a closed office with only the two of us, and I wasn’t used to it. My position in the company was still pretty low, so I had a desk, but it was on an open floor where my area was separated from others by some partitions, and that was it.

  Having a door between me and the rest of the floor was a bit strange for me. Especially when I had to be on this side with Simon. He was minding his own business while working, as was I, but I could still feel some immense pressure just for being in the same room as him.

  How much longer? I grumbled to myself
. Is time fucking crawling or what! I want out of here! Shit, I hope Rogue is doing okay at the hospital.

  In my mind, I was alternating between feeling nervous and worrying about what was going on at the hospital. I’d been the one to leave home first, so there wasn’t even a way for me to be sure whether or not if he'd left with Simon in the room with me, I’d been too scared to pick up my phone and even send him a text.

  Hopefully, he’d managed to make it there, and Mom had met him. She would take care of him.

  “You keep checking the time. Is something the matter?”

  I startled then looked up at Simon. I hadn't expected him to speak up since I thought he was busy, and it wasn’t even work-related. Maybe I was too obvious about it?

  It’s all I can do not to start tapping my foot and drumming my fingers on the desk, though! Couldn’t he have just ignored it? Then I wouldn’t have to answer!

  Simon was seated at the large desk in the room. The extra one that I was using had been added so he could supervise me as I worked. He couldn’t do it in his office since he still received people there, but the room we were currently using was usually left empty. It had technically been an office, but a few years back the company had done an overhaul and switched up while cutting out a few higher level positions. No one knew who to put in the newly opened offices, so they’d been left empty and used for whatever or whoever needed them.

  We were keeping confidential clients out of his main office, as well as providing a place for the team to meet and work together on cases. It would be more difficult if Simon was in his office and I sat at my desk several floors down. Every time he’d need to see me for the case, he’d have to call for me to come up. This was a lot easier. But, it was way too early in the case for him to be keeping me so close, too.

  We’d concluded the meeting from yesterday in half an hour, yet I’d spent my whole morning up here. I’d been too scared to ask about it, too, so I didn’t know, besides watching me, why he had me come all the way here just to sit separately and do our own thing. I wasn’t even obligated to work on the case right then, as long as I did all the homework he wanted before the next official meeting, which wouldn’t be for a while yet.

  “There’s nothing wrong,” I said after the pause had gone too long and the air was starting to feel awkward, especially for me. “I was just checking to see the time, sir.”

  “I understand that, but you keep checking every few minutes. Are you that bored doing your job?” He folded his arms over his chest as he frowned at me.

  “Of course not, sir,” I said quickly.

  Shit!

  My whole body had gone tense, my thoughts chaotic, as I tried to figure out how I’d annoyed him this time. He was so far above me on the corporate ladder, all it would take was one word from him, and I would lose my job. If he was just another guy on my level, or not too high, I might have spoken up, but when it came to him, everything was just too complicated.

  This was a first for me, too, so I didn’t know what was appropriate to say and what was not. If he tried to do anything to me, I would, of course, do something, but as long as it was within company regulations, I couldn’t bring up objections carelessly.

  I had too much riding on this to fuck it up.

  “If you’re worried about lunch,” Simon said, arching an eyebrow. “I can have someone bring some up for the both of us. I’m sure it should be about time. If you’re hungry, please speak up.”

  “No need, sir. I was going to step out of the office and catch a bite outside. Lunch break is a little over an hour, so I think I can make it and come back.”

  It would have to be a short meeting, but I couldn’t tell Simon I planned to go to the hospital during my lunch break in case he didn’t like it after our conversation that morning. He hadn't been amused by it, and when I got to the office, he hadn't said a word, but he’d looked to be in a bad mood. Still, the hospital wasn’t all that far away, and as long as I didn’t linger too long, a little over an hour should be enough time.

  “Where will you be going?” Simon asked, surprising me.

  Shit. Dammit! What the hell was I supposed to answer now that he’d asked? If I replied with a lie, what would I do if he decided he wanted to go along with me? As far as I knew, Simon ate food from the company’s cafeteria, and he rarely ever stepped out for lunch, unless it was to meet and schmooze some clients.

  “Uh,” I floundered, nothing coming to mind quickly. “I just…wanted to step out, sir.”

  “Well then, forget it either way. You’ll be staying over during lunch. I’ve got some work to do.”

  My boy went stiff at his words. “I’m sorry sir?”

  “I mean, you’ll be working through lunch, and someone will be bringing meals for us up here, so don’t worry about it.”

  “But sir, I need to step outside, I promise I won’t go beyond the time I have free, so please—!”

  “Claire,” Simon said, eyes narrowing on me. “Don’t tell me you have thoughts of running away during lunch to do whatever it was I told you that you couldn’t do before?”

  I checked the time out from the corner of my eye, and I wondered how long we’d been talking about it because it was already time for lunch. If only Simon didn’t decide to be such a jerk at the worst possible moment.

  “Sir,” I said, in the mood to be defiant. “It’s not against the regulations, as long as I’m not late returning, I can leave as soon as it’s lunch and go eat where I would like to.”

  “Maybe it’s not against regulations per se,” Simon said, eyes narrowing further. “But you and I are in the middle of a delicate case, Claire. I asked for you specifically because I thought this would be just the right job for you. But, if you’re unsure of whether you wish to keep working at this company, you’re free to do as you wish.”

  My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped as I stared at Simon. He couldn’t have said what I thought I heard him say, especially not when he was looking at me so steadily.

  “S-sorry, sir?” I blurted out with a slight stutter. “Sir, I’m not sure I caught that last part.”

  He arched an eyebrow at me. “If you don’t stay here through lunch, Claire, you might as well not come back. In fact, you might as well go on and start looking for a new job. Because I am more than willing to tell the partners that your attention to detail is sloppy and work ethic is beyond repair and it would be best to just let you go. I suggest you make your mind up quickly, Claire.”

  Make up my mind over what exactly? It was hard to believe he was serious because his words sounded like a threat. Was he going to get rid of me for not going along with what he wanted, even when it was only this much?

  This was why I’d been wary about this shit since the beginning! Working with people several levels above me could only be troublesome for me somehow! If not because the other guy took credit for my work, then because they would give me too much of a hard time.

  There was no way I could skip work to go off to the hospital now. Simon would be taking such drastic measures, and I knew the life that would await me if I were fired from my company. It was a good company to begin with, that had a good name and reputation. If you got yourself fired from such a place, even without details, people were going to be wary of hiring me.

  I had to tell Rogue so he wouldn’t keep waiting for me. When lunch was finally brought, Simon stood up to bring the food into the room. I used that short time to send off a quick text to Rogue that I couldn’t go because I needed to work.

  As for seeing Richard… I would just have to put it off once again because risking my job was out of the question.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rogue

  I was lazing around the house again. I fucking felt the need to do it. While I was in the joint just doing your own thing was a fucking luxury. I wasn’t obligated to stay indoors just because I was on parole, and I could probably track a few of the people I used to hang out with before, but the idea wasn’t appealing, not one bit.
/>   More importantly, it had been a few days, and Claire was still too busy with work to go to the hospital with me. I had hoped, the day she said she’d meet me at the hospital at lunch, that I could just go and meet her there when she went. I should have gone alone in the morning, but I chickened out again.

  It wasn’t easy, though. I could remember having this feeling of helplessness before, when I’d thought I was in for a good basketball career, only to get hit with a serious injury. This situation was wholly different, but just like then, I didn’t have the confidence to make a move.

  “Ugh,” I groaned, jumping off the couch.

  Over the past few days, I’d been alternating between feeling restless and languid. One minute I could be sitting down calmly, and in the next, I felt like my skin wanted to jump off my body. Out of things to do, I went to the bedroom to have a shower since I hadn't had one for the day yet. I was quick in the shower, and I got out and got dressed. But then I had nothing to do again, and the frustration was eating at me.

  “Why don’t I just go?” I said out loud, standing in the middle of my room. Fuck, one minute I was screaming to be a man and get on with things and the other time I was sitting back hoping for everything to sort itself out. But, I knew that life didn’t work that way, so why the fuck I kept doing it, was because it was easy.

  It wouldn’t hurt or anything, right? I would just go, see him, and hurry back. I could bury myself under the blankets like a little kid and wait for Claire to come back. Only, she’d been leaving for work early and coming back really late. I didn’t get mad at her anymore, just made sure there was dinner waiting for her whenever she got back.

  I hadn't gone back to sleeping in my room, either, unless it was during the day when she wasn’t around. She didn’t seem to mind, either. I would be asleep, then wake up a bit to the feel of her joining me in the bed and fall asleep again wrapping her in my arms.